chiminology

English

Etymology

cheem +‎ -ology, the former from either Hokkien 深 (chhim, “deep”) or Teochew 深 (cim¹, “deep”). Patterned after words like criminology and terminology.

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˌt͡ʃimiˈnɔləd͡ʒi/

Noun

chiminology (uncountable)

1. (Singlish, rare) Speech or writing marked by overly complex vocabulary.
   • 2001, Elangovan, Buang Suay and Other Plays, →ISBN, page 91:

     You've been talking chiminology on about fuck knows what for, God knows how long.

   • 2012 March 3, The cultural backdrop of English (radio), spoken by Sandra McKay, via ABC Radio National:

     So you can have chiminology, it means you're trying to be very erudite and talk in a very academic way...

Further reading

• Singlish vocabulary on Wikipedia.Wikipedia